Flare shoots briefly from El Segundo Chevron refinery

The Chevron Corp. refinery in El Segundo burned off excess gas Tuesday morning through a flare, with flames reaching as high as 100 feet, according to one witness.

“We had an issue with a valve that was quickly corrected,” Chevron spokesman Rod Spackman said. “There were no significant impacts. It didn’t last very long.”

Flares, which are used as a safety precaution during times of disruption at a refinery, can seem ominous. But they are actually part of the normal safety process, Spackman said. Occasionally, the refining process produces more gas than it should. In those instances, he said, it’s safer to burn the gas away.

Steve Tsumura, environmental safety manager for the El Segundo Fire Department, said the flaring incident lasted about a minute. He said fire officials were informed but did not respond to the refinery.

“This is a very short flaring event,” Spackman said. “Flares are part of our safety systems.”